B.D. Wong was born on October 24, 1960 and raised in San Francisco, California, where he graduated from San Francisco State University and eventually moved to New York, where you found incredible success

In one of his most well known roles BD Wong plays a doctor with a criminal justice twist in a special unit of law enforcement (Law and Order SVU) as Dr. George Huang. He actually plays a forensic psychologist; a psychologist specializing in crimes and criminal justice and he performed the part perfectly, somehow perfectly combining compassionate with an analytic perspective.

Wong has said that he remained on Law and Order SVU as long as he did because it was a rare and incredible opportunity and he somehow managed to balance both the stage and television work skillfully. Wong starred as Dr. George Huang on Law and Order SVU from 2001 to 2013 in 228 episodes and in 2008 at the Asian Excellence Awards; he was recognized as an “Outstanding Television Actor” for his role in the hit forensics-based television show.

In July 2011 Wong departed from Law and Order SVU (but would return for guest appearances) and joined Awake, another NBC police drama, where he played Dr. Jonathan Lee, the confrontational therapist of an LAPD detective that was played by Jason Isaacs, who lived in two different realities.

Additional Acting/Stage Accomplishments

In 1988, Wong made his unforgettable debut on Broadway in “M. Butterfly,” which earned him the renowned Tony award, Theatre World award, Outer Critics award, Drama Desk award and Clarence Derwent award. As a matter of fact, Wong is the only actor to be honored with all 5 awards for the same performance.

Wong also starred in the television series All American Girl in 1994 and has made guest appearances on a number of other popular television shows including Sesame Street in 1969 and the X-Files in 1983. He was also in “As thousands Cheer”, an off Broadway musical revival followed by his critically acclaimed performance as “Linus” in the “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown” revival. Additional roles include Oz’s Father Ray Mukada, Jurassic Park’s Henry Wu and his depiction of Ngawang Jigme in the Seven Years in Tibet movie as well as doing a variety of voice over work.

On a Personal Note

In 1999, Wong and his partner at the time, Richie Jackson, a talent agent, gave birth to twin boys through a surrogate; one of the twins died shortly after being delivered. The surviving twin who they named Jackson Foo Wong, inspired Wong to write his own memoir, “Following Foo” which also served as his official coming out, announcing that he was gay. He went on to say that he was perfectly happy to appear on TV and announce that he was a gay man, that he was both happy and proud to be able to say that. Wong and Jackson eventually split up, but they continued to share in the custody of their son.

B.D. Wong is also known for his charitable efforts which include being visible as a GLBT and AIDS, civil rights activist, hosting fundraisers and making an appearance at community events. Wong received GLAAD’s Davidson/Valentini award in 2003 for making a difference when it came to promoting equal rights. Wong was also selected by Goldsea Asian American Daily as one of the United States “100 Most Inspiring Asian Americans of All Time”.